


look both ways

by loonyloopyluna



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, look at this fluff i dug out of the garbage, trying to synch this up with my tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:45:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8914042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonyloopyluna/pseuds/loonyloopyluna
Summary: Sometimes you don't have time to check your surroundings, and you find out that someone's in the locker room with you, and your best friend has been by your side this whole time.





	

Of all the people that could’ve found out her secret, in all of Paris, of course it had to be someone she knew. And worse, it had to be Adrien.

Marinette was screwed.

She and Chat Noir had just parted ways after their latest akuma fight; the school janitor had finally snapped after Chloe (of course, it was always her) dumped her entire art project on the floor and simply walked away, leaving the glittery mess for him to clean up because “It’s his job. I’m not doing it for him.”

He’d been contained to the school, so Marinette had no fear of being late to class, but time was running out on her transformation, and her classmates were crowding around her, eager to get a chance to talk to Ladybug. She had to get out of here.

Her earrings beeped. She had… less than a minute, probably. She politely excused herself, waving at her classmates as she ran towards the locker room, where Chat Noir had exited a minute previously.

Ladybug had barely shut the door behind her and leaned against it to make sure no one followed when, in a flash, she was back to normal. She caught Tikki and gently laid her in her purse to sleep, then rushed to her locker to get her books.

And when she made her way back to the door, she froze. Because she hadn’t heard it open, but Adrien was standing there, off to the side. He was rooted in place, staring at her incredulously.

“You–” he began, but Marinette rushed over and clutched at his hand.

“Whatever you think you saw, you can’t tell anyone,” she pleaded.

He nodded dumbly. She realized she was still holding his hand and dropped it, blushing. They headed out together in silence. Their classmates had already dispersed, now that the heroes were gone, and the two of them were the last to arrive at their desks.

Alya wiggled her eyebrows when Marinette sat next to her. “Were you and Adrien somewhere… together?” She grinned. “Girl, what happened?”

“Nothing!” Marinette insisted. “I–nothing happened.”

Throughout the lesson, Marinette watched the back of Adrien’s head more cautiously than normal. He was holding himself stiffly, as though constantly keeping himself from turning around, and when the bell rang, Nino had to nudge him a few times to get his attention.

“Dude. School’s over. Time to go home. You there?”

Adrien shook himself out of his thoughts. “Yeah, ‘course.” He did turn around then, but Marinette had already left.

* * *

Tikki was awake when Marinette snapped open her purse in the safety of her bedroom. She flew up and perched on Marinette’s shoulder, patting her head. “Cheer up, Marinette!” she said. “It’s not that bad.”

Marinette buried her face in her hands. “What do I do?” she wailed. “No one’s supposed to know! And Adrien, of all people?” She let out a long groan. “I was just getting used to being friends. And now he’s going to treat me differently because I’m Ladybug, and-”

“Kind of like you treat him differently because he’s a model?” Tikki asked.

“But I don’t!” Marinette said. “He’s just a person. A wonderful, beautiful, smart-”

“Exactly,” Tikki interrupted. “You’re still just a person, Marinette, and Adrien’s your friend. He knows that. You can trust him, right?”

“R-right,” Marinette replied. “Besides, I don’t even know if he saw anything. I just… won’t confront him about it, and he’ll forget, and–”

A knock on her door cut her off. “Marinette?” her mother called. “There’s someone here to see you.” Then, to whoever was down there, she said, “Marinette didn’t tell me you were coming over.”

Tikki was settling in to her usual hiding spot when Adrien’s voice came up through the trapdoor. “She didn’t know. I just wanted to talk to her for a minute. I’m sorry. It won’t take long.”

Marinette froze. “Tikki!” she hissed. “Posters!”

In a mad dash, the two of them ripped every picture of Adrien they could find off the walls. There was no time to hide them; Marinette just left them crumpled on the floor and hoped that no one would notice. Then, she rushed over and opened her door.

“Yes, _Maman_?” she asked casually.

“Adrien’s here to see you,” she announced. She stepped back so he could pass her on the stairs, then leaned in and whispered, “I’m closing the door, but I’ll be right downstairs. Keep that in mind,” before shutting the door with a wink.

Marinette turned towards Adrien, standing uncomfortably in the middle of the room.

“A-adrien! Hi! How about that fight, earlier?” she babbled, then winced. _No!_ She wanted to talk about something else, anything other than that! But, of course, her mouth didn’t listen. “Poor Marc. He’s so nice; I’m glad he didn’t remember what happened afterward. And it’s lucky that they got there so soon, I mean, it’s weird, like, Chat Noir got there first, almost like he was closer than Ladybug-–which, I mean, usually doesn’t happen, right? All the video’s I’ve seen on Alya’s blog–”

“Marinette,” he said softly. “You don’t have to… I know.”

“I-I, um–”

“I know that you’re Ladybug,” he said. “And I know why you wanted to keep it a secret. And I’m sorry, because I know you didn’t want anyone to find out.”

Marinette deflated. “Adrien, please. You can’t tell anyone. Especially not Alya. I know she means well, but…” She tugged on her pigtails and started pacing. “I’m not mad that you know. It’s not your fault. But you have to keep quiet. Please.”

Adrien grasped her arms as she passed him, and she halted, facing him but avoiding his eyes. “Of course,” he assured her. “And, uh, I need to tell you something, too. You’re not the only one with secrets.”

She wondered what he could possibly be hiding. Moreover, what could be so important that he’d only reveal it once he’d found out her biggest secret? But she just glanced up at him, keenly aware of his hands holding on to her, and asked, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Well, a couple things, actually.” He suddenly looked nervous, even more so than Marinette had felt.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “Not if you don’t want to.” Really, did he think this was some sort of exchange? That he needed to make them even, now that he had something on her?

“No, I want to. I just, um,” he said. “Sorry. I don’t really know how to… Okay. I’ve always really liked Ladybug. And… and I really like you, Marinette. And I–I mean, I’m– Maybe I can show you?”

Adrien gulped. Ugh. Why was this so hard? _I’m Chat Noir._ How difficult was that to say? But the way her eyes shone with concern was distracting him. This was Ladybug. So instead of stammering his way through the next few minutes, he cupped his hands around her cheeks, leaned forward, and kissed her.

Then he came back to his senses. He broke away from her and started to scramble backwards, but she caught him by his wrists. “I-I really like you, too,” she said shyly.

He tentatively leaned back in, and this, time, her lips met his halfway. Internally, Marinette was shrieking. She was kissing Adrien Agreste. And he’d started it! She had to figure out a way to tell Alya, without going into the _why_.

Their lips were soft and light against each other, the kisses sweet and innocent, but Marinette’s heart was beating a thousand times a minute. She pulled back, his lips chasing hers, and murmured, “Was that all you wanted to show me?”

He laughed. “Not quite.” His arms came up to encircle her neck, and he had an idea. “Close your eyes.”

She did as he asked, squinting dramatically to show him that she couldn’t see between her lashes. Adrien pressed his lips against her nose, her cheeks, her mouth, and she smiled, reciprocating eagerly. Between kisses, he breathed, “Claws out.”

The flash of light directly in front of her face startled her, and Marinette’s eyes fluttered open. Chat Noir stood in front of her, his arms around her neck, hers around his waist. The cocky smile that she was so used to seeing below that mask was absent, replaced by an uncertain frown.

“Adrien?” she asked incredulously. He nodded. “You’re Chat.”

“And you’re Ladybug,” he replied, grinning for a second before his expression fell again. He bit his lip. “Look, I know you didn’t want to know, but I thought it was only fair, since I know who you are. I’m sorry.”

Marinette giggled. “Sorry? Don’t be, kitty,” she reassured him. She pressed against his chest and tightened her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “This is a lot for both of us, but… At least we’re even.”

A genuinely hopeful smile spread across his face, and he returned the hug silently.

Marinette’s mother’s voice came through the door. “Marinette!”

They broke apart, and he quickly dropped his transformation while she rushed to the trapdoor and knelt, lifting it a few inches. Her mother stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up expectantly. “Is Adrien going to be staying for dinner?” she asked.

“No, but thanks for the offer, Mrs. Cheng,” Adrien said, coming up to kneel next to Marinette. “I have to leave soon.”

She nodded, and they let the door fall shut.

“So,” Marinette began. “What does–I mean, does this change anything for us?”

“For Chat Noir and Ladybug?” he asked. “Nothing. We’re still partners, right?”

She nodded.

“For Marinette and Adrien, however,” he continued, reaching over to take her hand. “We’ll see about that, maybe?”

She blushed. “Yes. Definitely. I mean, I’d like that.”

“Good,” he said, smiling. “I really did mean it, though. I do have to leave soon. The Gorilla’s been waiting outside school for a few minutes. I’ll see you tomorrow?” He stood and helped her up.

She squeezed his hand. “See you tomorrow.”

Adrien leaned down to open the door, then noticed one of the posters slumped on the floor. “Oh, your poster fell. Here, let me–”

He walked over to pick it up, but Marinette darted over, saying, “Oh, no, no, it’s okay! I was going to take it down anyway!” She snatched it off the ground and rolled it up, hoping she was moving fast enough that he couldn’t glimpse his own face on it.

A very Chat-like smirk overtook his face. “Whatever you say,” he teased, and she knew he’d seen it.

But she didn’t really care. He was Chat, who loved to make fun of her, but he was also Adrien, who was sweet and sincere; he was both, and he didn’t care that she was embarrassed that she’d had a poster of him hanging in her room because he thought it was sweet; and because she was kind, caring Marinette, and she was also his Lady, and he was glad that he’d finally found her in real life, and she was surprisingly comfortable with the fact that he had, and they had nowhere to go from here but forward, with each other for company.

**Author's Note:**

> cross-posted to my tumblr [ here ](http://chatchevalier.tumblr.com/post/148810369616/whoa)
> 
> I didn't realize how many fics I have just on my tumblr, so over the next week or so I'll be uploading them here, too.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Blind Spot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11276541) by [breeeliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/breeeliss/pseuds/breeeliss)




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